Fairfield teens charged at Alive@Five

Staff Report

Published 11:11 pm, Friday, August 15, 2014

STAMFORD -- Police at Thursday night's capacity Alive@Five turnout for The Beach Boys arrested three teenagers -- one for striking a police officer.

Just after 6:15 p.m. police were told by concert security of two youths, who appeared to be very drunk and one of the young men refused to get rid of a Snapple bottle that appeared to contain alcohol, just outside the concert area, Sgt. Kelly Connelly said. Police, who were watching over a capacity crowd of 9,000 people through the evening, approached the young man, who was swaying on his feet and slurring his words.

The young man with the bottle, John Henry Bambach, 19, of 161 Lamplighter Lane, Fairfield, turned and began walking away, but stopped and became abusive toward the officers, telling them they had no right to question him. A friend of his Brendan Salese, 20, also walked away.

Connelly said Bambach then balled up his right fist and struck one of the officers on the left shoulder and left jaw. Bambach was then restrained and handcuffed and while he was being walked out of the area, Salese stopped and demanded to know what was going on with his friend. Salese, of 60 Aspen Wood Lane, Fairfield, then became abusive toward the officers and he was also placed under arrest.

While sitting in the cruiser, Bambach became more belligerent and began spitting in the back seat and banging his head against the clear plastic partition. The two began to tell the officers that their fathers were accomplished attorneys and they would sue them. The two also asked how much the officers made and they did not know who they were dealing with, Connelly said.

Once at the police station, Bambach and Salese refused to go through the booking process, but later cooperated with police. Bambach was charged with assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, breach of peace and being a minor in possession of liquor in a public place. He was held in lieu of $5,000 bond.

Salese was charged with breach of peace, interfering with police and possession of marijuana and released on a written promise to appear at court.

Another woman, Angela Ciambriello, 18, of 76 Tetter Rock, Trumbull, was charged with breach of peace.

Capt. Thomas Wuennemann said there were as many as a dozen other drunk minors, but they were given the opportunity to cooperate and calm down and police officers called their parents to pick them up. One officer had to wait until nearly midnight for the parents to pick up one teen that came down from Oxford, Wuennemann said.

About six other teens were sent to Stamford Hospital for observation because they were so drunk, Wuennemann said.

"The problem was that a lot of people walked off the train very drunk," he said.

Wuennemann said a fire marshal, estimated there were 9,000 people inside the concert venue and halted more concert-goers from entering until others left.